Parashat HaShavua - Vayakhel
In my fourteen years teaching at the Heschel School, it has not yet failed to shock me that we have a student body filled with adolescents not only invested in but excelling in a huge swath of interests. Of course, we have sports programs that are bursting at the seams with talented athletes, academic competitions like Model UN, Mock Trial, and Moot Beit Din that showcase intellectual prowess, and a Celebration of the Arts that magnifies our wealth of artistic talent.
But, truth be told, many schools could boast such a record. Many terrific high schools can laud their students who excel in the arts, or in sports, or in academics. I am so extremely proud of every one of those students in their areas of expertise. But for me, it is not those achievements that define our school. It is something else.
In parshat Vayakhel, Moshe has just descended from Har Sinai with a fresh set of two tablets, ready to give over the bulk of the laws of the Torah to B’nei Yisrael. And after a few introductory mitzvot - including Shabbat - Moshe begins to instruct the people on the construction of the mishkan, the mobile sanctuary wherein B’nei Yisrael will serve God through sacrifice and prayer. Moshe calls upon the people to donate material possessions and skilled labor to its construction, if they are willing. And it is here where the Torah says something quite surprising.
In Shemot 35:21, the Torah reads:
וַיָּבֹאוּ כּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר נָדְבָה רוּחוֹ אֹתוֹ הֵבִיאוּ אֶת־תְּרוּמַת יְהֹוָה לִמְלֶאכֶת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּלְכל־עֲבֹדָתוֹ וּלְבִגְדֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ
Every person whose heart lifted them and every person whose spirit compelled them came, bringing an offering to God for the construction of the Tent of Meeting, all its service, and its holy garments.
Our commentators are struck by the phrase “כּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר נְשָׂאוֹ לִבּוֹ - every person whose heart lifted them”. Ramban comments that there are two phrases referring to people here, but of the two, the other (“כֹל אֲשֶׁר נָדְבָה רוּחוֹ - each whose spirit compelled them”) is expected, is obvious. The language of “being compelled” is common in Tanakh, the phrase used to regularly express this kind of volunteerism. But “each person whose heart lifted them”? That’s new. That’s unique. That’s the truly magical addition to this moment. Ramban expounds and suggests that this new, unexpected category - those whose heart lifted them - is not the skilled laborers, the craftspeople who dedicate the skills they’ve already mastered. Rather, these “lifted hearts” are those amongst B’nei Yisrael who come forth to dedicate their time and efforts to the project of building the mishkan, of building both structure and holy community. Specifically, it is those who, despite being completely unskilled and untrained, simply felt deep inside themselves that this work was something they could do, so they stepped up to help.
It is this spirit that embodies what makes Heschel such a truly unique institution. It is our students who stay after school week after week to learn how to run the tech booth for our musical, despite never having touched a soundboard before. It is our 9th graders who stand in front of our entire student body to ask pointed questions of a visiting speaker. It is the teachers who go out of their way to find opportunities to support all the creative work their colleagues are doing. We are a community driven not by the talents that our students and teachers bring into the building already, but by the hearts that are lifted within and outside our classroom. And that is the true Heschel spirit that makes our school such an amazing place to learn.
Shabbat shalom and hodesh tov!
David Riemenschneider
Grade 10 Dean and High School Limudei Qodesh Teacher